I just watched Toy Story 3 for my first time yesterday. It's strange how strong of an effect childhood associations can have years down the road. As we speak the new Scooby Doo is playing in the background as some bored kid pounds on a nearby piano. I can still feel the painful boredom and meaninglessness of spending the day glued to the television. Those rare occasions where I falsely convinced my mother of illness were possibly the most miserable memories of my childhood. Perhaps though it says more about how damn good my childhood was. Truthfully the only thing necessary for life to be sweet as a child (maybe still holding true) was unadulterated companionship. Undivided attention from others with a common goal of entertainment never failed to satisfy. There was so much time with so few demands, and the only consistent one was to give the elders some peace. Luckily for me this happened in a place of magic where there were enough kids to fill each of our needs and the freedom to go along with it.
I think my adulthood has just buried the same goals and needs. In a way our imaginations have become so finely tuned that they can convince us of a worldly order. People seem infatuated with classifications and organization even though it is for the most part a result of our imagination. Maybe truth is easiest to find when we stop trying and just observe. I always thought I was learning away my prejudices as I grew but upon closer inspection it seems I had it backward. If we take a step back and let the world unfold we are at our most objective.
I think my adulthood has just buried the same goals and needs. In a way our imaginations have become so finely tuned that they can convince us of a worldly order. People seem infatuated with classifications and organization even though it is for the most part a result of our imagination. Maybe truth is easiest to find when we stop trying and just observe. I always thought I was learning away my prejudices as I grew but upon closer inspection it seems I had it backward. If we take a step back and let the world unfold we are at our most objective.
That last paragraph is bullshit. Classifications are a practical application of the imagination we had as children. Where once we couldn't ever seem to make our dreams affect our reality (and so insisted on living in the pretend), now our dreams can go forth and shape the world.
ReplyDeleteWe had prejudice as children and we have it now. In place of our former raw prejudice, which was untempered by truth, we now have elaborated our prejudice into something increasingly harmless. I'm most objective when I actively seek out my prejudices and counter them. I'm most creative when I open up.
Classifications can be practical however they can also be misleading or incorrect. It is dangerous to base decisions around them though they are a necessary part of communication with others.
ReplyDeleteAre your prejudices increasingly harmless if you can no longer recognize them for what they are? I agree that I've come a long way from my ignorant childhood self however my realizations and adjustments have come predominantly from experience which is an incomplete indicator of truth. Many people find prejudice through experience. I find flawed thinking to be much more harmful with age, power, and conviction. Once you have justifications for your beliefs it is unlikely you will reexamine them with much perspective. As children we are more adaptable and open to new ideas including that of being wrong.
It is difficult to counter something that is buried and many people don't have interest in trying in digging the unpleasant up. You my friend may be a slight exception.